Five Bombs Hit Surat Thani Ahead Of Red Shirt Rally

[ovaltina]

This is the probably red's version of 'suicide bombers', it is their suicide of the tourism industry and the international corporate investors in Thailands future growth.

I think we had the suicide of the tourist industry last November when a million or so tourists were stranded at Suvarnabhumi...I can't remember the colour of their shirts, can you?

I remember it very well, it was in 2008 November/December, when the yellow shirts peacefully had a sit-down protest in the airport. I remember it because I was in Bangkok at the time, as a tourist & had a flight booked for back to UK & work,and then cancelled, at that time. It inconvenienced people who were due to fly during those 2-3 weeks.

I was in orthopaedic hospital during November 2008 in Bangkok, and I spoke to most of the nurses and doctors who came into my room & saw the news on the TV there, about the yellow marches & sit-in @ the airport. Of the ones who chose to express an opinion,which was most of them, all of the Thai nurses and doctors said that they supported the yellow cause. Some even went to the airport for one day when they weren't working. The nurses there are low-paid blue-collar Bangkok women, they told me that they wanted the yellow movement to succeeed because(to paraphrase) " Thaksin steals from this country, he steals from the hospitals and the patients". They saw Thaksin as a man who (paraphrase) " paid-off the rural uneducated with gifts of cheap housing in return for them supporting him in his plundering of the state". These were words said to me by a highly educated Thai orthapaedic surgeon in Bangkok. He felt that anything was better than Thaksin & the empty raided coffers in the social infrastructure.

I think that this goes against the rather laughable "rich foreigners are the only supporters of the yellows" gibberish somewhere in this thread. Also, and I'm going out on an intellectual limb here, but we are all citizens of Earth. The fact that somebody was born in a different part of Earth, and moves to the same part of Earth as you, and says " this place is beautiful, I want to work here & help you make it even better", is something to be applauded & not insulted in all this 'farangs-get-out' racism.

I would agree that today, two years on from that incident, most of my Thai friends want to forget the whole yellow/red thing and move on & I dont blame them. My Thai friends want Bangkok to be the modern cosmopolitan city that they have worked for all their adult lives and suddenly there's people marching up the street in 2010 holding up big posters of a convicted arch-criminal & theres bombs & grenades going off, coincidentally.

Tourists did get upset in 2008 when their planes were delayed by peaceful sit-down protesters waving yellow foam hands etc., but delays always make people upset. But neither I nor any other tourist I spoke to at the time, felt FEAR or huge crushing disappointment at the actions of the yellows in that airport.

What we have with the Thaksin fan-club /reds/ w/e, are the ones that cause fear in tourists, because these people smashed the doors in & attacked the Asean Summit, and also there have been many televised film of reds using violence. Coupled with the fact that most educated Western tourists recognise a despot when they see one, after our history in Europe & indeed USSR, they feel nervous around Thaksin. He is after all a convicted criminal who is running from one country to another in an ever-decreasing spiral. He is not considered mentally stable by any political commentators in the West, be they heads of investment corporations or sociologists.

I just hope that this current rouge incident now passes uneventfully, for the sake of LOS and everyone who cares about it.

Edited March 13, 2010 by ovaltina

[animatic]

It is tiring to hear all the rich farang who have aligned themselves with the rich yellow shirts putting down the working class thai people. people who struggle to live. The rich Farang then come and dine with yellow shirts and look down on real thai people.

What is very tiring is that the "rural" Thais or those that are not in agreement with the Dems need a GOOD party with an HONEST leader with SOUND policies.

Unfortunately the only people holding their hands up are.... Thaksin who is unacceptable (and unelectable) for several reasons. My view is that the most likely scenario if there was a general election won by the current opposition is the tanks would roll once again.

What are the red shirt movement (RSM because Thailand likes TLAs)? A bunch of opposition, some republicans, some anarchists, some Thaksinista, some Isaan, some Southerners, some lefties, some army boys but with very little in the way of common ground. This movement has been hijacked by Thaksin to a large degree and few are happy with that as will be manifested in a much smaller rally this week. The bad press that violence causes damages all parts of the RSM. That splintered movement will never gather momentum if it continues as it is. This is mirrored by the stance that Aphisit is taking. Let the opposition destroy itself. Let Thaksin implode it.

Thaksin himself has handled things badly. Before the trial he said that he would accept the verdict. Most would have predicted a complete confiscation of assets but he was left with around 40%. A smart man would have said - "OK, where do I sign?" but he immediately went on the offensive contradicting his previous stance. This was followed by a second wave of litigation after the rest of his cash. Not good Chess Mr. T. The judiciary will have a good excuse to hold on to the remainder of the cash as you refused to accept the verdict. The second level of litigation may seek to freeze it now anyway and sue against it later. Double jeopardy.

Some in the Peua Thai party have realised that for a whole host of reasons the way forward has to change. Songkran 2009 meant that the Million Man March was doomed from the beginning. Factions of the Reds are not playing by the rules that the Opposition want and are bent on violence. It gives a bad press, causes a loss of votes and ultimately paves the way for an easy election victory for the Dems with the fall-back of another coup if that goes pear-shaped. An each way bet.

Unfortunately on these pages the farangs themselves have become polarised in an argument that is not a part of our Ken. It's not a case of rich against poor. Its not a case of north against south. Its not a case of left against right. Its not a case of Thaksin against Aphisit and its not even a case of the sideshow that is Red against Yellow.

I agree with most of what you say but on the bottom line you've told us what's not but not offered a "what it is". May I politely suggest that it's a fin de siecle game of musical chairs? This has occurred many times in thai history and I would posit that it's a deeply ingrained feature of cultural tradition and behaviour. Political upheavals here will only change by losing the very nature of traditionalism, deference, fatalism, class, patronage, the thai smile , family values

Regarding fahrang opinions,

A) one of the main functions of the website is for people to hold forth varying opinions on local matters and I's suggest we reflect the greater thai population in our representation

10% Sneering Capitalists

10% Relocated Socialists

10% Liberal Treehuggers

70% pissed and couldn't care less if the locals kill each other as long as the bars still open.

If you consider Thailand to be your adopted country (whether they want you or not) you are bound to have an opinion influenced by your background and level of perception (or interest) in matters Thai.

So to those who complain about Fahrang opinions: Look up the definition of "Forum." If you don't want to read opinions, don't log in.

Good post,

just shave a bit off the percentages equally and allow for a bit of other thought trains about it.

Last line is drole!

Edited March 13, 2010 by animatic

[jayboy]

Also, and I'm going out on an intellectual limb here ....

Believe me having read your post carefully but with increasing disbelief there's no danger of that.

[animatic]

Too think we imagined it wouldn't get down here.

This is a message for Suthep of course.

And a bad omen for this weeks events.

by we. you mean you. Myself and many others have been stating the Red movement was underestimated. I met shopkeepers and upwardly mobile trades people, within blocks of that Tesco Lotus, who were so loudly supportive of the red movement I said shush to them. That was this past December and January.

I have mentioned right here in TV a few times that there are Reds in Surat Thani.

I even have photos published on Google Earth from that neighborhood and the Attached photo is the Tesco Lotus parking lot.

The really, really sad part is all of the reds I talked to really liked my solution to the problems in Thailand. The Joseph Solution. This was NOT the smile and nod Thai thingy, either, I know the difference. They would cease their unrest if my architecture for a political system was instituted in Thailand.

Too bad, the parts of The Joseph Solution that would made it highly acceptable to the Yellows I talked is not allowed to be mentioned here.

I wasn't using the Victorian royal 'We'.

I do know several here who thought this.

I was more fence sitter, while knowing Sutheop is from Surat Thani,

and so this makes his home town a clear target for a 'Red Message'.

Of course there are some reds in Surat, there is a PTP party apparatus there,

and they got to campaign without hindrance too. No doubt there are

one or two red shirt nutters ready to 'work for the cause' in Sutheps home town.

So they got a leg up on the party first. Might not be an official action, but still an action.

Nutters as opposed to just 'redshirts ready to protest', this is not one monochromatic red tide

Two different mindsets.

[ovaltina]

Also, and I'm going out on an intellectual limb here ....

Believe me having read your post carefully but with increasing disbelief there's no danger of that.

I'm glad you enjoyed reading my post carefully, a shame you missed the sarcastic mocking aspect of 'going out on an intellectual limb', i.e. there's nothing intellectual about stating we are citizens of Earth & therefor have a right to travel it. It was sarcastic because to *some* people, this is indeed a huge leap of cerebral gymnastics. Thanks for proving me right.

I read your post carefully too & there wasn't any actual points to respond to except the naked flame & so I won't.

[animatic]

Also, and I'm going out on an intellectual limb here ....

Believe me having read your post carefully but with increasing disbelief there's no danger of that.

I'm glad you enjoyed reading my post carefully, a shame you missed the sarcastic mocking aspect of 'going out on an intellectual limb', i.e. there's nothing intellectual about stating we are citizens of Earth & therefor have a right to travel it. It was sarcastic because to *some* people, this is indeed a huge leap of cerebral gymnastics. Thanks for proving me right.

I read your post carefully too & there wasn't any actual points to respond to except the naked flame & so I won't.

Ovaltina I just read your post and it was well stated.

Ignore the habitual troll trying to get a rise out of you.

It's just S.O.P. for him, can't seem to help himself.

Like a moth fliting too close to a flame he lights himself.

[jayboy]

Also, and I'm going out on an intellectual limb here ....

Believe me having read your post carefully but with increasing disbelief there's no danger of that.

I'm glad you enjoyed reading my post carefully, a shame you missed the sarcastic mocking aspect of 'going out on an intellectual limb', i.e. there's nothing intellectual about stating we are citizens of Earth & therefor have a right to travel it. It was sarcastic because to *some* people, this is indeed a huge leap of cerebral gymnastics. Thanks for proving me right.

I read your post carefully too & there wasn't any actual points to respond to except the naked flame & so I won't.

I didn't expect a response because it was just a statement of exasperation.Certainly wasn't a flame as you and the troll Animatic suggest.

If you want a lecture on why Thailand's society is torn and divided,I could supply it but heaven knows there are plenty of other sources.The easy way of course to avoid thinking is to say it's all about Thaksin and if he would go away and stop paying the ignorant red mob, everything would be alright.

[stevehaigh]

i just heard another bomb went off in Surat about 12pm today and 2 people died. i don't see anything on the news but got this from my step daughter who lives a few hundred meters away from the blast

[animatic]

i just heard another bomb went off in Surat about 12pm today and 2 people died. i don't see anything on the news but got this from my step daughter who lives a few hundred meters away from the blast

Too sad if this is true.

Hate Suthep all you like,

but don't take it out on his innocent neighbors.

[jayboy]

i just heard another bomb went off in Surat about 12pm today and 2 people died. i don't see anything on the news but got this from my step daughter who lives a few hundred meters away from the blast

Too sad if this is true.

Hate Suthep all you like,

but don't take it out on his innocent neighbors.

Do you have any embarrassment at all about retailing this ludicrous lie?

[ovaltina]

Also, and I'm going out on an intellectual limb here ....

Believe me having read your post carefully but with increasing disbelief there's no danger of that.

I'm glad you enjoyed reading my post carefully, a shame you missed the sarcastic mocking aspect of 'going out on an intellectual limb', i.e. there's nothing intellectual about stating we are citizens of Earth & therefor have a right to travel it. It was sarcastic because to *some* people, this is indeed a huge leap of cerebral gymnastics. Thanks for proving me right.

I read your post carefully too & there wasn't any actual points to respond to except the naked flame & so I won't.

I didn't expect a response because it was just a statement of exasperation.Certainly wasn't a flame as you and the troll Animatic suggest.

If you want a lecture on why Thailand's society is torn and divided,I could supply it but heaven knows there are plenty of other sources.The easy way of course to avoid thinking is to say it's all about Thaksin and if he would go away and stop paying the ignorant red mob, everything would be alright.

Not really my point. I never said Thaksin should go away, I said he should be locked in a small cell for the rest of his life with $0 and a mirror so he can admire his own handsome face.

I agree that Thailand's society is a very complex organism, and it is unique in many ways. Infact the whole of SEA is sort of unique in being caught between very new technology flooding in from its direct neighbours China and Japan without, and the very primitive low-tech and fractious nature of the infrastructure within.

By comparison, Europe, which also had centuries of almost circus-like disputes & needless wars, did not have the contrast with the hi-tech.

My own view, is that primitive societies who see the mud huts they live in and then somebody shows them a mobile phone with pictures of american or european kids living that modern dream, are going to have severe culture clash and get really upset about the gulf of everything. Peasants in medieval Europe at least had the knowledge that the peasants in other countries were in the same squalor as they were. Thanks to modern hi-tech, working class in SEA and the ME etc., are bombarded with images of working-class people from developed lands who are by comparison, rich.

As for 'plenty of other sources', well I personally like direct empirical sources rather than something somebody told you on a website. That i why I mentioned my experiences of the Doctors & Nurses, who were very pro-yellow cause, especially as the yellows were breaking the law at the time & if anything, the hospital staff were under pressure to not support the people closing down the airport etc.

But I forget that their opinions don't matter to you anyway, because Thai Doctors and Nurses are part of the ruling Elite. I should shun them with their Elitist Medical Diplomas from abroad,their Elitist sterilised operating rooms, elitist non-counterfeit drugs, and the other Elitist symbols like fully trained nurses etc.. Next time I end up flatlining epilepsy & need urgent treatment I should avoid those Elitist Doctors with their foreign MD's, & just get treatment from some gaptoothed looney with a head full of home-stilled whisky & meth, because he's not part of the urban Elite.

Don't you see that society *needs* elites, be they doctors or teachers or politicians or civil engineers.

These unfortunate people have been encouraged to rebel against the very parts of civilisation that are actually trying to improve their lives.

As a point, I'm neither red nor yellow, I just don't want to see people get hurt & die, or watch this nation go backwards any further.

[animatic]

i just heard another bomb went off in Surat about 12pm today and 2 people died. i don't see anything on the news but got this from my step daughter who lives a few hundred meters away from the blast

Too sad if this is true.

Hate Suthep all you like,

but don't take it out on his innocent neighbors.

Do you have any embarrassment at all about retailing this ludicrous lie?

Troll comment, nothing more.

[jayboy]

That i why I mentioned my experiences of the Doctors & Nurses, who were very pro-yellow cause, especially as the yellows were breaking the law at the time & if anything, the hospital staff were under pressure to not support the people closing down the airport etc.

But I forget that their opinions don't matter to you anyway, because Thai Doctors and Nurses are part of the ruling Elite. I should shun them with their Elitist Medical Diplomas from abroad,their Elitist sterilised operating rooms, elitist non-counterfeit drugs, and the other Elitist symbols like fully trained nurses etc.. Next time I end up flatlining epilepsy & need urgent treatment I should avoid those Elitist Doctors with their foreign MD's, & just get treatment from some gaptoothed looney with a head full of home-stilled whisky & meth, because he's not part of the urban Elite.

Your position is incoherent.Nobody is suggesting that a society can do without elites in the sense of needing trained and experienced professionals.You are also sadly mistaken if you believe that most doctors and nurses (two quite different socio-economic groups you lazily lump together) are supporters of the PAD.I could demolish you comprehensively but it hardly seems worth it since you don't seem to comprehend the basic vocabulary of Thai poltics.

[sbk]

drop the baiting and flaming now. Next one that steps over the line will get a 3 day posting suspenion to give you time to cool down while this whole thing plays out. Hope this is really really clear.

[SomTumTiger]

That i why I mentioned my experiences of the Doctors & Nurses, who were very pro-yellow cause, especially as the yellows were breaking the law at the time & if anything, the hospital staff were under pressure to not support the people closing down the airport etc.

But I forget that their opinions don't matter to you anyway, because Thai Doctors and Nurses are part of the ruling Elite. I should shun them with their Elitist Medical Diplomas from abroad,their Elitist sterilised operating rooms, elitist non-counterfeit drugs, and the other Elitist symbols like fully trained nurses etc.. Next time I end up flatlining epilepsy & need urgent treatment I should avoid those Elitist Doctors with their foreign MD's, & just get treatment from some gaptoothed looney with a head full of home-stilled whisky & meth, because he's not part of the urban Elite.

Your position is incoherent.Nobody is suggesting that a society can do without elites in the sense of needing trained and experienced professionals.You are also sadly mistaken if you believe that most doctors and nurses (two quite different socio-economic groups you lazily lump together) are supporters of the PAD.I could demolish you comprehensively but it hardly seems worth it since you don't seem to comprehend the basic vocabulary of Thai poltics.

Someone must have peed in your corn flakes this morning Jay, lol

[jayboy]

i just heard another bomb went off in Surat about 12pm today and 2 people died. i don't see anything on the news but got this from my step daughter who lives a few hundred meters away from the blast

Too sad if this is true.

Hate Suthep all you like,

but don't take it out on his innocent neighbors.

Do you have any embarrassment at all about retailing this ludicrous lie?

Troll comment, nothing more.

you dodge the question.Let me repeat it.Do you have any evidence at all that the bombs in Surat Thani had anything to do with the red movement let alone that it was an attack on Suthep by the former? My sense is that you are making this up, and have no evidence at all.If there is any substance to your suggestion, let's hear it.And if you come back with a personal attack without dealing with the question, I think most people will draw their own conclusions.

[animatic]

I'm glad you enjoyed reading my post carefully, a shame you missed the sarcastic mocking aspect of 'going out on an intellectual limb', i.e. there's nothing intellectual about stating we are citizens of Earth & therefor have a right to travel it. It was sarcastic because to *some* people, this is indeed a huge leap of cerebral gymnastics. Thanks for proving me right.

I read your post carefully too & there wasn't any actual points to respond to except the naked flame & so I won't.

I didn't expect a response because it was just a statement of exasperation.Certainly wasn't a flame as you and the troll Animatic suggest.

If you want a lecture on why Thailand's society is torn and divided,I could supply it but heaven knows there are plenty of other sources.The easy way of course to avoid thinking is to say it's all about Thaksin and if he would go away and stop paying the ignorant red mob, everything would be alright.

Not really my point. I never said Thaksin should go away, I said he should be locked in a small cell for the rest of his life with $0 and a mirror so he can admire his own handsome face.

I agree that Thailand's society is a very complex organism, and it is unique in many ways. Infact the whole of SEA is sort of unique in being caught between very new technology flooding in from its direct neighbours China and Japan without, and the very primitive low-tech and fractious nature of the infrastructure within.

By comparison, Europe, which also had centuries of almost circus-like disputes & needless wars, did not have the contrast with the hi-tech.

My own view, is that primitive societies who see the mud huts they live in and then somebody shows them a mobile phone with pictures of american or european kids living that modern dream, are going to have severe culture clash and get really upset about the gulf of everything. Peasants in medieval Europe at least had the knowledge that the peasants in other countries were in the same squalor as they were. Thanks to modern hi-tech, working class in SEA and the ME etc., are bombarded with images of working-class people from developed lands who are by comparison, rich.

As for 'plenty of other sources', well I personally like direct empirical sources rather than something somebody told you on a website. That i why I mentioned my experiences of the Doctors & Nurses, who were very pro-yellow cause, especially as the yellows were breaking the law at the time & if anything, the hospital staff were under pressure to not support the people closing down the airport etc.

But I forget that their opinions don't matter to you anyway, because Thai Doctors and Nurses are part of the ruling Elite. I should shun them with their Elitist Medical Diplomas from abroad,their Elitist sterilised operating rooms, elitist non-counterfeit drugs, and the other Elitist symbols like fully trained nurses etc.. Next time I end up flatlining epilepsy & need urgent treatment I should avoid those Elitist Doctors with their foreign MD's, & just get treatment from some gaptoothed looney with a head full of home-stilled whisky & meth, because he's not part of the urban Elite.

Don't you see that society *needs* elites, be they doctors or teachers or politicians or civil engineers.

These unfortunate people have been encouraged to rebel against the very parts of civilisation that are actually trying to improve their lives.

As a point, I'm neither red nor yellow, I just don't want to see people get hurt & die, or watch this nation go backwards any further.

Hear, hear and a very pertinent set of points, soon to be bashed by the trollish ogre,

but no matter, points made for those who CAN think for themselves.

Brava

The world will ALWAYS have elites because, simply put,

there will ALWAYS be people who can do somethings better than most others.

And they will breed with similarly intelligent and functional types,

because they are naturally drawn to each other.

And in general create off spring with increased spring in their step

and gleems in their eyes. Eventually good business sense and success

will have them labeled Elites but those less fortunate, or less functional...

Some will always wallow in squalor and never move ahead,

while others will move ahead in spite of obstacles and prosper themselves.

Neither state is for ordained, but those with repeated upward progress will

inevitably be labeled Elites by those unable to move ahead on their own.

It is a sad fact of the human condition that this will be so.

We can act to make it easier to move ahead and move up into better circumstances,

but not all can make use of the opportunity and some will remain resentful.

Doesn't mean we shouldn't act, but also doesn't mean will will work either.

Edited March 13, 2010 by animatic

[ovaltina]

Hear, hear and a very pertinent set of points, soon to be bashed by the trollish ogre,

but no matter, points made for those who CAN think for themselves.

Brava

The world will ALWAYS have elites because, simply put,

there will ALWAYS be people who can do somethings better than most others.

And they will breed with similarly intelligent and functional types,

because they are naturally drawn to each other.

And in general create off spring with increased spring in their step

and gleems in their eyes. Eventually good business sense and success

will have them labeled Elites but those less fortunate, or less functional...

Some will always wallow in squalor and never move ahead,

while others will move ahead in spite of obstacles and prosper themselves.

Neither state is for ordained, but those with repeated upward progress will

inevitably be labeled Elites by those unable to move ahead on their own.

It is a sad fact of the human condition that this will be so.

We can act to make it easier to move ahead and move up into better circumstances,

but not all can make use of the opportunity and some will remain resentful.

Doesn't mean we shouldn't act, but also doesn't mean will will work either.

Thankyou for reading the salient points & not being reactionary, and I agree with your statements too.

I think that human evolution is like coastal erosion or tectonic plate movements etc. it is not something that happens overnight. Society progresses slowly, and while nobody really wants to see poverty anywhere, it is always a gradual process of repair and construct.

It always takes time, and people seem to think that because a new leader has been in power for a few years, suddenly in 2010 all of the institutional problems, vested interests & back-room deals that signify Thai politics, will somehow have vanished. I'm not a fly on the wall in Abhisits room, but I feel that he is sincere in his wish to move Thailand forward, despite the difficulties. I also believe that he hasn't stolen $2billion+ and put it in his bank account (for example). It seems that people either want him to fail, or they seem to assume that all the corrupt heirarchy that he stepped into has vanished & he is the sole person to blame.

I just can't really think of a single armed uprising, during peaceful times of relatively low-corruption, that has actually led to a huge progress in the fairness of society. All it leads to is a new leader, often more corrupt, and innocent casualties, and the same resources as before but now scattered among different groups. Plus of course a new generation of tit-for-tat, you shot my dad etc. It never ends until people get realistic, go home to their communities & start grass-roots self-help projects, and being grateful for what they've got because there is always somebody with less, somewhere.

[jayboy]

I'm not a fly on the wall in Abhisits room, but I feel that he is sincere in his wish to move Thailand forward, despite the difficulties.

Looking to find common ground I'm happy to agree with you.Khun Abhisit has a difficult balancing act , keeping a greedy and corrupt military at bay, but I'm convinced he has the country's true interests at heart and is determined to tackle the appalling unfairness of Thai society that Thaksin quite cynically exploited.

As to the thread subject matter we await some evidence that the bombs in Surat Thani were red inspired.We may have to wait for some time.

[animatic]

i just heard another bomb went off in Surat about 12pm today and 2 people died. i don't see anything on the news but got this from my step daughter who lives a few hundred meters away from the blast

Too sad if this is true.

Hate Suthep all you like,

but don't take it out on his innocent neighbors.

Do you have any embarrassment at all about retailing this ludicrous lie?

you dodge the question.Let me repeat it.Do you have any evidence at all that the bombs in Surat Thani had anything to do with the red movement let alone that it was an attack on Suthep by the former? My sense is that you are making this up, and have no evidence at all.If there is any substance to your suggestion, let's hear it.And if you come back with a personal attack without dealing with the question, I think most people will draw their own conclusions.

The absurdity of the question belied any need for a cogent reply.

What you 'sense' is of no relevance.